SAN JOSE — Domestic violence victims in Santa Clara County got another lifeline Thursday with the launching of a Family Justice Center in East San Jose, giving residents a readily accessible respite from abusive lives.

It’s the county’s third center, joining locations in Morgan Hill and Sunnyvale, providing one-stop access to legal advice — including help filing restraining orders — shelter, food, and other amenities aimed in part at emboldening victims to leave their batterers.

“These are tangible, viable, lifesaving services,” District Attorney Jeff Rosen said. “To anyone in an abusive relationship: There is a team of professionals waiting to help you. All you have to do is open the door.”

Rosen’s office will jointly run the center with Asian Americans for Community Involvement, at the latter’s facility on Story Road across from Happy Hollow Zoo. Officials said both the AACI connection and East San Jose location were chosen because of a pronounced rate of domestic-violence cases with in the city’s Asian population and the site’s central location, an average 10-minutes’ travel time from all points of the city.

“We came to the people we’re trying to serve rather than having them come to us,” Assistant District Attorney Cindy Hendrickson said.

That’s particularly valuable for the immigrant communities that populate East San Jose, said Michele Lew, AACI president and CEO. She noted there are challenges for people in abusive situations such as a language barrier or uncertainty about their rights in the United States, all while struggling with the realization they are being abused by a loved one.

“Reporting domestic violence is intimidating for anybody,” Lew said. “We’re making it more comfortable and accessible.”

The services offered at the new center are free and confidential, and are available in 14 languages and dialects. Clients can get help with getting counseling, therapy, social services and other needs. Lew also stressed that while they offer help with immigration issues, immigration status will not be discussed — unless initiated by the client — or be an entry bar to services.

Santa Clara County Supervisor Cindy Chavez, whose district encompasses the new center, noted even though domestic violence is presumed to be underreported, each year 21,000 calls are made to the area’s domestic-violence hotlines, 6,000 calls are made to local police agencies and 4,000 cases lead to criminal charges.

“We know this is the tip of the iceberg,” Chavez said. “This Family Justice Center is going to give people a safe place to come and take control of their lives.”

But the center wasn’t the only notable effort by the DA’s office to assist domestic-violence victims Thursday. Prosecutor Johnny Gogo announced that an annual collection drive yielded 600 used cellphones to be sold and whose proceeds will go to local advocacy groups Next Door and Community Solutions, the latter of which operates the Family Justice Center in Morgan Hill. Gogo said in this year’s haul, most of the phones were confiscated from inmates at the California Rehabilitation Center in Norco, Riverside County, and were added to a smattering of community donations.

The new Family Justice Center in East San Jose is at 749 Story Road. Asian Americans for Community Involvement also runs a 24-hour domestic-violence hotline at 408-975-2739.

Robert Salonga is a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter covering crime and public safety for The Mercury News. A San Jose native, he attended UCLA and has a Master's degree in journalism from the University of Maryland. He previously reported in Washington, D.C., Salinas and the East Bay, and is a middling triathlete. Reach him the low-tech way at 408-920-5002.